Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-09-23
HON TO SUCCEED IN FINANCE.
8. V. WHITE, THE WALL STREET
OPERATOR ON MONEY MAKING.
Fortunes Not Made In Day Though
Millions May BE.
Written for the Free PIors i

Two or three rods down Wall street
from Broadway is a building that is said D
be the most valuable real estate in the
world. 1t is almost next door to the Stock
Exchange, and its rooms are rented to men
whose spheres of activity lie mainly in the
hall of that noted association Up ono
flight pleasant Office overlooking the street
is occupied by deacon" Stephen V.
White, one of the most prominent and sue
ccssful brokers in active business to-day
1t was JUS after the closing of the Stock
Board that the writer ventured to beard
Mr., White in his financial den. Work was
still rife there. \ young woman was read
ing quotations from a ticker as fast as She
could and small boy was posting them up
| on a big board while Il young man with Il
summer moustache was footing somthing
about gas through telephone, and half a
dozen other meu with pcrspiration on their
faces and haste written all over their
I frames, were interviewing as many clerks
at their different desks. The entrance to
Mr.. Whites private Office was not barri-
Caded, and in response to a knock thereon.
a short man with a full beard, hazel eyes
and a wilted collar, peeped out and asked
what was wanted He had on an old straw
hat and loose blue coat. lie did not say
he was altogether too busy to think, but
smiled as if he enjoyed getting somebody
to talk to and exclaimed: Come right in
and sit down He dropped into a chair
made of beautifully polished horns, tilted
his hat to the back of his head, threw one
leg over the other. and in answer to my
question began:
success in Wall street depends good
deal upon a mans environment. If be gets
into brokers' Office where there are live
and stirring men. and he has good staying
qualities he will probably rise from the
humber duties of Il clerk to a wider field of
operation But there are Offices within a
stones throw where old fugyism prevails.
and a man might as well be paving the
streets for fortune as to enter one of them.
There are employers who seem to think that
nobody connected with them ought to rise.
\ man seeking to make Wall street the
scene of his life work should exercise great
care and discrimination to avoid such men.
Does it require a special aptitude to secure
success in Wall street, we'll, yes it requires
a special aptitude to succeed in amy business.
"pypmica on Alps are pypmics ,t.l.
"And pyramids are pyrum!ds IN the vale"
Mr.. White delivered this poctical apho-
rism with all the JUNCTION of fervent spring
poet 1t is characteristic of him to talk in
this way. whether his conversation is on
business. politics or general topics. His talk
abounds with metaphor, classical illusions,
and quotations from ancient and modern
writer's. sometimes rendered into terse En-
glish, sometimes in the words of the authors
language, be it Latin. or Greek, or French
or any other.
Some men," he continued ARE Tim
Linkinvaters, You remember Cheeryblc
Brothers, in Dickens Tim knew every
pigeOn-hole i'll their desks. and was as faithful
and slow as possible. These men do not
rise fight above a pigeon hole, md they
never make anything better. than highly
priced confidential clerks who are a great
comfort to their employers That is an
aptitude that has its manifest use in the
financial world, but it is not that that de
velOps mans fortune. beyond the point
| f decent living. On tine other hand there
are men who are the exact opposite of the
Tim LinkinWat"rs. men who are all dash
and bravado, who attempt big coup-that
word | use because it expresses the idea
better than anything happen to know in
! the English languagc-such men are almost
/ sure To make worse failures in the street
than the slow, methodical ploddels. Net
\
for lust such men. because the magnitude
of operations is oftentimos binding and the
/ public cannot see the real circumstances al
the back of them.
"Nes, of course man who is unknown
and is not backed or recommended by some
body OF influence, might lind it difficult to
get into Wall-Street Office. But ! came
here and didn't know anybody and nobody
knew M. idii not have any Wall-Street
clientagc either. Now my firm can handle
! from -. eco TO 80. COO of stock day. a
firm with 100. 000 capital could not afford
to risk Il 1.-THE Of that amount. 70 he sure
| | was not n boy when | started had had
! 10 years experience in business and was
pretty mature. But came unknown and
/ built w Il comfortable business
THE essential difference between our
/ business and that of any other man, is that
broker has to square his books ever day
and see where he stands \ dry goods man
could fail and not fad it ont for months;
| but if broker has not the capital to work
with he finds it out i'm douhle quick order
Commercial paper is Of little account; he
| must have collateral.
The great point TO bear in mind about
! Wull-strtyt business is this If a man starts
in and wants to make fortune nj once. he
| will barely make a living; if he starts ont
/ with the purpose Of making living, he will
end in most cases 10y making fortune. 1t
will take both 20 years ON the average.
But does not the record show that :.
I Y. White made a million in one day on the
! occasion of a certain series OF transactions
| Il Lackawanna:"
! Mr. White tAe is not a deacon ut all, 10y
| the way, smiled all over his face as he re